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Let’s get something straight.
There is no dearth of good male actors, as some have been saying. But there is a hell of a lack of awareness among entertainment opinion writers.
I’ve seen a lot of articles floating around, all asking where the new generation of leading men is. Why Oscars for Best Actress are going to the up-and-comers but among the men only the old guys get the gold. But that’s the wrong question. It’s not “Where are they?”
It’s “Why don’t we want them?”
Instead of illuminating the necessary evolution of masculinity, these articles obscure it. “Where did all the Clint Eastwood’s go?” “Where’s the next Tom Cruise?” Are you kidding me? We’re done with John Wayne, thank you. And most of us are better off that way.
There are quite a few of us who are capable of carrying the torch, if we just pay attention and realize that worth does not always mean copy-and-paste-ability. But that’s the thing. These articles buy into the same mindset they seem to be exposing. They ask, “Where have all the good actors gone?” Then a paragraph later they complain, “You’d think Robert Pattinson, but no! He’s doing all these weird movies that no one sees!” It’s like watching someone look for their phone while they’re holding it to their ear.
Instead of spending all of our time looking for the new incarnation of James Bond, why don’t we acknowledge and celebrate the times we are living in, and dive into exploring what it really means to be a “leading man”?
In other words, I think we can all agree that after six movies, the mission is goddamn possible.
Men can be ordinary and still riveting. Men can feel and still win. Men can fight without drawing blood. Men can love and hurt and wonder and doubt and still be strong.
So let’s stop asking vapid questions like, “Why would anyone choose Josh Hutcherson over Liam Hemsworth?” or “Could audiences ever watch Jesse Eisenberg fall in love?” We’re better than that.
Change starts with us. Watch Dev Patel. Watch Robert Pattinson. Watch Michael B. Jordan. Watch Jesse Plemons. Watch John Boyega. Watch Matt McGorry. And when new actors like me step onto the scene with thoughtful, sensitive, complex, human work…buy a ticket.
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Originally published on Medium. Used with permission.
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